


The Family Tree

by Just_a_kid_at_heart



Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Family, Family Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-04 02:11:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16337780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_a_kid_at_heart/pseuds/Just_a_kid_at_heart
Summary: For most kids their family tree is simple, but for Faith “Fraser” Randall this school projects is bringing up to many memories and she is having a hard time dealing with it.





	The Family Tree

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you to @muykonos for being an awesome beta and for helping make this story way better than it was originally. Hope you enjoy.

It was the family history project that started it. Faith had been assigned to create a family tree for her third grade class. It didn’t have to go back very far, just parents, grandparents, any siblings, maybe some aunts and uncles. The difficulty of the project was not the problem, but rather who would be on the family tree. 

Faith knew that putting any names beside a Randall or a Beauchamp would be a sure way to have her teacher calling her parents and asking questions, but Faith also felt she wouldn’t be making her real family tree that way.

She did not have much memory of her real Da, only snippets, images of a man with hair just like her sister’s, the feeling of being warm and safe in his arms. It was an entirely different feeling than when she was with Frank, or “Daddy,” as she was supposed to call him. She knew Daddy wasn’t her real Daddy. Everyone else may think Frank Randall was her father, but she knew that wasn’t true. 

\------

Frank, Brianna, and Faith were seated around the table eating dinner; Claire tried to be better with her hours at the hospital, but found herself missing dinner most nights, it seemed. Frank tried his best with the girls; Brianna was easier to deal with since he had raised her since birth, but Faith resisted his efforts from time to time.

“So, girls, how was school today? Did you learn anything interesting, or need any help with your homework?”

Faith was quiet, more content to let Bree ramble on about her day in kindergarten. Bree and Frank had a different relationship than she did. Mama never seemed to talk about Da whenever Bree or Frank was around. It was only ever the two of them, and usually it was Faith who started the discussion by asking some kind of question about him. She didn’t understand why it was that Mama never talked about Da. She knew Mama loved him, so why couldn’t they talk about him, why did he have to be such a secret?

“And Faith, what about you?” Frank asked, trying to get Faith to open up about her day at school. He had a wonderful connection with Bree and she loved to tell him about her day, but Faith was always much more reserved. If he could just get her to open up, then maybe they could form a better connection. It would never be the same as with Bree, but if he could connect with Faith, maybe he wouldn’t feel like he was living in someone else’s shadow. He knew he would never be able to have children any other way, and although he was not thrilled that Claire had conceived these two girls with another man, he still tried to do his best by them. 

“Yeah, Faith,” Bree began, “Tell Daddy about your project. I heard Molly talking about it today on the way home from school. I bet Daddy would help you so that your project is the best in the class.”

“A project?” Frank questioned. “What kind of project?”

Faith sighed, with Bree opening this topic she knew there would be no avoiding telling Frank. If she was honest, she knew Frank would be helpful, but she didn’t want his help if the project wasn’t going to be about her real family. “I have to make a family tree for my history class. It doesn’t have to be too detailed. I’ll be fine on my own, all I really need are your parents names and Mama’s.”

“But Faith, Daddy could help make your project so much better. He knows all the way back to our great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather,” Bree urged her sister. 

“I don’t know that I know that far back, Bree, but I have worked hard on researching my family. Are you sure you don’t want my help?”

“No thank you, Daddy,” Faith said, trying to be as polite as possible. “I think it will be better if I do it by myself.”

“Don’t be silly, Faith, Daddy knows all about our family. He is going to help make your tree the best. Your teacher is going to be so impressed, with all the different people on your tree.”

“I SAID NO, BREE!” Faith exclaimed as she stood up from the table and ran upstairs to her room.

Faith’s outburst startled Frank. She was always such quiet and mild child, and this outburst was completely out of character for her. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do about it. He wanted to be speak to her about her outburst, but any of Frank’s attempt at parenting Faith seemed to be met with a struggle. He was not looking forward to the teenage years. As much as he hated shirking any parental duties, this might be something better handled by Claire when she got home. 

\------

After dinner, Bree followed her sister upstairs. Faith never reacted like this and Bree wondered if something was going on. Maybe there was someone in her class that was being mean to her? She knew whenever another student would make fun of her bright red hair that it would put her in a bad mood, but seeing Faith at the end of the day always managed to cheer her up, so she figured it might be the same for her sister. 

Bree knocked on Faith’s door. “Faith, can I come in?”

“Go away, Bree!” Faith yelled. She did not want to talk to her sister right now. As much as she meant well, all she figured she would only get pep talk about Frank. With this Family Tree project making her think about their real Da, she really wasn’t in the mood. 

Undeterred by Faith’s attitude, Bree opened the door and entered Faith’s room anyway. She knew if she could just cheer Faith up, Faith would feel better and come out of her room to work on her project with Daddy. She didn’t understand why Faith didn’t seem to love Daddy as much as she did. Not that she wanted anyone to replace her in Daddy’s eyes, but things always seemed to be different between Faith and Daddy. 

“Faith, why are you being so mean to Daddy? You know he could help you with your project, if you’d just ask.”

“I don’t want his help Bree. I don’t want anything to do with him right now.”

“But why? Daddy only wants to help. That’s what Daddies are there for.”

“Leave it alone, Bree.”

“No, you are being mean to Daddy and all he is trying to do is be helpful. He knows everything and always helps me with my homework, and all he wants to do is help you with your project. You know it would be the best in the class. You could go so far back and impress your teacher, and Daddy would be so happy if you asked for his help. Let’s go downstairs and ask Daddy now. Daddy is the best Daddy.”

Faith was annoyed with all the praise her sister was giving Frank, this was not what she needed right now and she just wanted her to 

“STOP IT BREE, HE’S NOT OUR FATHER!” Faith exclaimed, immediately putting her hands over her mouth hoping, she could somehow be able take back what she said or that maybe it would prevent Bree from hearing what she said. Although she didn’t understand why Mama had told her to keep their real Da a secret, she knew Mama was going to be mad she had told Bree. 

Bree looked at Faith with a confused face. “What are you talking about? Of course daddy is our daddy.”

In an attempt to fix the situation, Faith backpedaled. “It’s nothing Bree, forget I said anything. I need to work on my family tree; if I need any help I’ll make sure to ask Daddy. You’re right, he probably could help a lot if I asked,” she finished as she ushered her sister out of the room, hoping the mention of Frank would help her sister forget what was said. 

Bree wasn’t sure what had just happened. One second she and Faith were fighting; the next Faith was cheerfully agreed to Daddy’s help with her project something she had refused before. Older sisters are weird, she thought. Maybe she should ask Mama about it when she got home, she seemed to understand Faith better than Daddy did.

\------

Claire noticed something was wrong by the look on Frank’s face when she got home from the hospital. “Did something happen with the girls?”

“Yes, there was quite the stramaish over a project of Faith’s for school at dinner. Faith ran up to her room, Bree went up to check on her, and it seemed as though they were getting ready for round two. But by the time I got upstairs both girls were working on their homework in their rooms.”

Claire sighed. She knew sisters would fight, that was to be expected; no siblings get along perfectly all the time. However, Faith and Bree’s fights seemed to be getting more and more frequent, and it did not look like Frank’s refereeing was worked as well as it used to. Bree was usually calmed down by Frank and convinced to apologize, but Faith was putting up more and more resistance when it came to anything Frank wanted of her. For Faith, matters only seemed to get resolved when Claire was home to talk to her eldest daughter, and unfortunately with the demands of medical school and the hospital, Claire was starting to be home less and less.

“I’ll go up and talk to Faith now, see how she is doing. You said this was about a school project? Do you know what it was about? That might help me figure out what’s wrong.”

“From what I can tell, Faith has been asked to create a family tree for school. Bree thought Faith would like my help, but it seems as though Faith wants to do it all on her own. Bree tried to insist that I help and that seemed to set Faith over the edge.” Claire could hear the bit of bitterness in Frank’s voice, she was beginning to guess where the problem may have started. Faith didn’t really seem to like any of Frank’s help and a project that made her think about Jamie, she could only imagine how that made Faith feel. She didn’t know how much her older daughter remembered of Jamie, if anything, but she was starting to ask more and more questions about him. She certainly seemed to know that Frank wasn't her dad. 

Claire went upstairs to talk to Faith, but she first made a quick stop to make sure Bree was okay. 

Claire saw her youngest daughter sitting on her bed reading a book, and she knocked on the door frame to get her attention. Bree looked up and smiled. She like nights when she got to see her mama before bedtime. 

“Hi, sweetie,” Claire began as she sat next to her on the bed, “How are you feeling? Your father told me you and your sister had a fight earlier this evening. Is everything ok?”

Bree hugged her mother. “I’m fine Mama. Faith was acting a little weird; she was being really mean to Daddy, and not asking for help with her project. I know that maybe she wanted to do it on her own, but if she would just ask Daddy for help then I know it would be the best project in the whole class.”

Claire tried to reason with her daughter to help her understand where her sister was coming from, “I know that you always like to ask Daddy for help with your homework, but your sister is a little bit older and if she feels like she can do it on her own then she may want to do that. Or maybe she is worried that her teacher will think she didn’t do the project all by herself. Somethings Daddy does might be a little bit too detailed for someone in Faith’s grade, so it might be best to let Faith do it on her own. Do you understand?”

“I think so, Mama,” Bree answered. “Do you think Faith will be happier after this project is finished? She seems kinda sad right now. I thought she was worried about the project and that is why I said she should ask Daddy for help, then she wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

“I don’t know, sweetie, I will have to talk to your sister to see how she is feeling. Why don’t you start getting ready for bed while I talk to your sister. When we are done, how about we both tuck you in?”

“Okay, but make sure you have Daddy comes up too. I like it when we are all together as a family.”

\-----------------------

Claire sighed as she left Bree’s room. She loved when they were all together, but if she was honest, she loved when it was just her and the girls alone, in those moments she could pretend that it would be Jamie who walked through the door to join them, not Frank. But there wasn’t time to dwell on that now, she had another daughter to talk to before everyone could truly settle into bed.

As Claire approached Faith’s door, she could hear the soft sobs coming from inside the room. Something was really bothering her oldest tonight. Claire knocked, “Faith, it’s Mama, can I come in?” 

“Come in, Mama,” Faith answered as she struggled to get her tears under control. 

Claire entered the room and saw the tears staining Faith’s face. “Oh, lamb, what happened?” she inquired as she sat on the bed giving Faith a hug. 

There was nothing better for Faith than being held in her mother’s arms. She felt safe and comfortable there, like nothing could harm her. She wished her mother didn’t have to work so much and she could spend more time with her than Frank. “I miss Da, Mama,” Faith muttered into her mother’s chest. 

Claire was a little surprised; she knew that Faith had a few memories of the past, and would sometimes ask about Jamie, but Claire always tried to skirt around the issue. She told her enough to make sure she knew she wasn’t making things up, but still let her know this was not a topic that could openly be discussed in the house. Honestly, Claire had assumed Faith wouldn’t have many memories of the past, and thought it would be fine when she agreed to Frank’s conditions to raise the girls together. But something seemed to be reminding Faith of Jamie, and since she was getting older, she would need to have a serious talk about this issue. She could only imagine Frank’s reaction to Faith bringing up Jamie in front of Bree. 

“I know, lamb, I miss him too, but what has brought this on? You haven’t said anything about this in quite a while. I know when you were really little you would ask about your Da, but you haven’t asked in quite some time.”

Faith removed her head from her mother’s chest and looked her in the eyes. “I have to make a family tree for school, and it just seems wrong to make a tree that doesn’t have Da on it.”

Her heart went out to her daughter. She could understand how difficult this was for her. Faith did not have the relationship with Frank that her sister did, and with all of this talk Jamie she doubted it would get any better. “I know this is difficult, lamb.” Claire hugged her daughter, trying to give her some comfort. 

“Why can’t we talk about Da, Mama? Bree doesn’t even know he exists, and that just seems wrong.”

Claire sighed. She knew this was difficult for Faith. She should not have made that promise to never mention Jamie to Frank. “To tell you the truth baby, I made two promises, and although I thought were for the best at the time, I think both have made life very difficult for you right now.”

“Two promises?” Faith questioned. 

“One was to your Da, before your Uncle Murtagh brought you to us at the stones, and the other was to Frank when we made it back through the stones.”

“What did you promise them?” Faith asked, interested in how this affected her. 

“I promised your father when you and I went through the stones that I would go back to Frank. He hoped Frank was a good enough man to take me back and protect the both of us, and Bree.”

“But Bree wasn’t born yet when we went through the stones.” Faith interrupted.

“That’s true, but your father knew I was pregnant with Bree. That is one of the reasons why he sent us through. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to us with the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden. I told him about the things that were most likely coming after the battle, and he wanted to make sure we were with someone safe.”

“But, Mama, if you knew what was coming, couldn’t you have stopped it and made us all safe there, and then we could have all been together?” 

“I wish that were true, baby,” Claire started, tearing up as she spoke. “But your father was returning to the battlefield after he saw us off at the stones - he didn’t think he was going to survive the battle, and didn’t want us to be all alone and without him, especially so far from the protection of Lallybroch.”

Faith nodded at her mother’s answer; she didn’t like it but she was understanding of it. After a solemn moment between the two of them, remembering Jamie, Faith spoke up. “What was the other promise you made, Mama?”

Claire sighed. “This one may be a little bit harder to hear. I promised Frank that as long as he was alive, we wouldn’t speak about Jamie, I wouldn’t do any searching for him, that I would never tell Bree that he was her father. We would raise the two of you on our own and he said we couldn’t do that with Jamie’s shadow lingering over us.”

“But, you and I have talked about Da before, Mama,” Faith insisted. If mama had made this promised that why did she still talk about Da with her. 

“That’s true. I thought it wrong to not talk to you about someone you remembered, but this is why we have to keep it a secret, and not talk about your Da in front of your sister. Your father would not be very happy if he found out you told your sister he was not her father, and I can’t imagine how your sister would react.”

“You mean Frank wouldn’t be happy. I think Da would be more than happy if we talked about him all the time,” Faith huffed at her mother. 

Claire chuckled. She could see the Fraser stubbornness coming out in her eldest daughter. “You’re probably right, but I think it still best we keep these talks just between the two of us.”

Faith smiled; she didn’t like that she couldn’t talk about Da with anyone else, especially Bree, but at the same time she was a little glad she and Mama had a special secret between just the two of them. 

“So now that you are feeling a little better, how about we talk about this project of yours.” Claire wanted to get things back on track to the original issue at hand. “I know you don’t like that your Da can’t be on your family tree for school, but I have absolutely no idea how we would explain to your teacher what a Scottish highlander was doing on your tree anyway, sincce she has met both myself and Frank. However, if you would like, you and I can make a special family tree for you and me and I will help you put everyone we knew and loved at Lallybroch on it. Will that help matters at least a little bit?”

“Oh Mama, that would be wonderful,” Faith exclaimed as she hugged her mother. 

“Good. I don’t have to work this weekend, so you and I will have our own special project time to work on it. I am sure Frank will be more than happy to find something special to do with Bree then, so we will be all to ourselves.” Claire hugged her daughter back, glad she was successfully able to cheer her daugher up. “Now, come on,” Claire starting to stand, “You need to apologize to your sister for the fight, and then we all will tuck the two of you in bed.”

\---------------------

Faith walked into Bree’s bedroom alone. Mama had gone downstairs to get Frank so that they could all say goodnight together. 

“I’m sorry I yelled at you before, Bree. I was upset about my project, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.” As she apologized, Faith climbed up on the bed to hug her sister

“It’s okay, Faith.” Bree hugged her sister back. “I get frustrated at school, too, and when I’m upset, you are always there to cheer me up. I just wanted to do the same for you.”

“I’ll try to be better next time. Thank you for trying.”

“Are you better now? Did Mama help?”

Faith smiled at her little sister. “Yep, Mama and I talked about everything, and I feel a lot better. Maybe you can help me look over our family tree before I turn it into the teacher.”

“That would be nice.”

“Knock, knock,” Claire said as she rapped on the door, Frank behind her. 

“Mama! Daddy!” Faith and Bree exclaimed at the same time, as Claire and Frank made their way over to the bed. 

“Are you ready for bed, Bree?” Frank asked, sitting next to her. 

“Yes, Daddy. I love nights when we all get to be together. Do you think we could read a story tonight?”

“Sure, Bree, what story would you like to read tonight?” Frank asked walking over to the bookshelf.

Faith cuddled between her sister and her mother, waiting for Frank to come back with the story. She still missed her Da, and although this may not have been the family she dreamed of, these moments together were still nice.


End file.
